Posted By Shane Johnston
We check our employee driving licenses (those who are required to drive on business) once per year, however it has been suggested we do this three time per year by an inspector. While I do not usually ignore advice, given the scale of the issue (2500 people) administering this process is not, IMHO, reasonably practicable.

I have know employees who have two licenses (obtaining a new one by just saying they lost the old), and showing the employer the "clean" license. No amount of checking would identify these individuals. However I am open to change, and would appreciate it if you could let me know how often you check your employee driving licenses (to confirmt they still have one and to not any points on the license).

Shane

Posted By Dave Wilson
Why would you need to check it more often or even after the first time? seems to be a 'jobs worth' task.

Have the company Insurers given a view?

Posted By Dave Wilson
Never been prosecuted for not doing industry best practice - Ask where this is to be found

would still get insurers point of view, as a 'banned driver' who is driving a company vehicle may invalidate any prospective claim after an RTA etc.

In a previous job we had a FLT driver who was banned for 18 months (drink driving)but only 'on the Queens Highway' so didnt affect his job, but would have been arrested if he went outside the confines of the premises. How daft is that?

Posted By Andy Stokes
Just left an employer where I worked with the Fleet Manager to put in place licence checks once per 12 month period based on the appointment date. Also in place was MOT and insurance checks with the first expenses claim form each financial year. This was more than enough for our insurers, and I had a problem with Directors who objected to having their licence checked annually for their company cars. However, we did get advised by DVLA that keeping copies of the licence was only acceptable if the individual gave written consent to this. To make this easier we asked for a completed insurance declaration form - accident info, convictions etc - which was signed as true by the persons line manager, who also confirmed they had again seen the licence. This form was then sent to h&s admin. This puts the onus on line management for the correct operation of the system, and the safety administration for the safe compilation of data. We then sent Regional Directors a quarterly list of those permitted to drive, and we gradually got a better response rate to the licence checks when RDs realised they had some staff without the apporpriate internal permit.

Hope this helps

Andy Stokes

Posted By Dave Wilson
As an aside would having this info contravene data protection?

Any answers?

Posted By Paul Swift
When working in the transport industry some years ago it was considered best practise to check licences 6 monthly to reduce the time that a driver could potentially be driving company vehicles following a conviction. Dependent on the insurance cover in place, a 3 point speeding conviction could invalidate the company insurance for a particular driver, thereby leaving the driver open to prosecution for driving without insurance and the company open to prosecution for aiding and abetting.

I am working on a 6 monthly system for the company I currently work for. We are looking at devolving responsibility for licence checks to line managers, and holding (with authorisation) photocopies of licences to compare when checks are made. It is almost certainly not going to go down well with the sales staff who do the most driving, but it is also these that seem to get the most Gatso portraits!

Posted By Geoff Burt
Convinced you're right about periods between checks but not completely sure of your financial arguement.

Does it matter how many driver are involved, the individual cost remains basically the same no matter how many people you employ. You could even say economy of scale reduces your overall costs compared to your smaller competitors.

Resource wise it is less economical for small companies because of their reliance on each individual to be 'producing'.

The actual amount is fairly meaningless without putting it into terms of percentage turnover and profit.

I agree with the practicality issue, it is what is reasonable in the circumstances taking the risk into account. I see no point in checking licences every 6 months - generally 12 months is perfectly acceptable.

If it was suggested the MoT for private cars should be more frequent I could certainly agree with that - because of the greater risk (poor or lack of maintenance, age of cars and so on) and lack of enforcement in the form of road checks by the police.

Posted By Mark Jarman
In response to Dave Wilsons comments, I would suggest that the DPA applies to the protection of data once it is collected, and not the actual collection itself.

Posted By Geoff Burt
But if they are a much smaller company with a much lower turnover it is effectively costing the smaller company much more per individual - although actual costs per individual may be very similar!

Same concept applies to training. Turnover and profit has to be taken into account to make the figure meaningful.

Posted By Willian Holbrook
As an Hgv Driver and health & Safety rep at a large distribution company we have our licenses checked on a quarterly basis. This has the full support of the health & safety committee as well as the recognized trade union. The Hgv Drivers and other members of staff who drive any number of miles can easily accrue points on their licence that can soon exclude them from driving. Another more important concern is that many people have their licences revoked for medical reasons. Therefore you have to consider that without regular checks you can finish up with employees behind the wheel that could be a major danger to other road users as well as themselves. Remember a person who loses their licence may well feel they have a good reason to keep the fact from their employer, if they think they will lose their job

Bill Holbrook